Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 22:09:39 -0500 From: dfremlin AT facstaff DOT wisc DOT edu (John Fremlin) To: opendos AT delorie DOT com Subject: OpenDOS graphics drivers Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Lines: 39 Precedence: bulk Pierre Phaneuf typed: [snip] > >Exactly! Note that no multitasking OS will *EVER* beat bare 16-bit DOS for >game performance... A game running on DOS via a DOS extender is the >fastest thing around. No DirectX or WinG will ever get you faster than >that. Linux won't do any better. No - there are zillions of specialized SVGA cards that each have their own little secrets and optimizations. Having the manufacturer provide the video routines (DirectX, etc) means that a game will run optimized on whichever SVGA card is installed and relieves the poor game programmer of the impossible task of supporting each and every card. (I am not sure that this manufacturer's writing their own drivers idea is actually DirectX, because I have never programmed under Windows. If I am wrong, please correct me) This currently cannot be done under DOS, and DOS is AFAIK still faster than DirectX but that may (will) change as SVGA manufacturers concentrate on Windows (DirectX, etc.) graphics speed and as 3D accelerators become more common. DOS + DirectX would still be faster than Windows + DirectX So, how about a DirectX-like interface for OpenDOS? I have no idea as to how difficult this would be and whether any manufacturers would support it but I think that it would be a great idea. (It would, naturally, be in a separate package from the kernel) -- John Fremlin (dfremlin AT facstaff DOT wisc DOT edu) (fremdh AT essex DOT ac DOT uk) Back off man, We're scientists!!!